In 1887, Raleigh philanthropist Richard Stanhope Pullen donated 80 acres of land to the city for use as a public park. Pullen Park has since become an important component of North Carolina's Raleigh civic life, providing citizens with a variety of recreational opportunities. Its star attraction, however, is its carousel. Tradition maintains the carousel made its Raleigh debut at Bloomsbury Park, an amusement park developed in 1912 by the Carolina Power and Light Company.
